Guild Wars Geeks

I am in need of some information.

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:00:00 +0000

I posted this question on Yahoo! Answers, but so far the only answer I received did not help me in any way. I figured I should post it here as well.

The question is:

Does anyone know of any online games news websites? These could be websites that list online PC games, review games, have forums about online games, and other stuff? Some examples are mmosite.com, gamespot.com, etc. My search has so far been futile and now I need some help. :(

Thanks.

Pets and Guild Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:21:00 +0000

I currently have three animals in my flat--a dog named Bruno, and two mischievous kittens named Midori and Toru.

All three have their personal quirks--Bruno knows when it's time to take a bath and will hide under the couch, Midori knows when it's time to eat and will constantly try to jump up my legs to reach the food I'm preparing, and Toru... well, he likes to eat fingers.

P and I are big Guild Wars geeks. We love the game, and even though work and other matters take us away from it for a while, we still go back again and again. We're such geeks we've even used the game to describe my pets.

In the game, there are also pets that characters can tame and use in combat. These pets have their respective qualities and damage-dealing abilities.

My own pets also have their own abilities, as we have identified using the Guild Wars guide.

Midori

She's very sweet, people-friendly, cuddly, and TERRIBLY CLINGY. She's harder to take off than industrial Velcro. She will jump on you while you pee in the bathroom, jump on your shoulder and stick her butt in your face while you watch TV on the couch, and hang off your arm while you try to prepare their food in peace.

And because she is still affected by gravity, she will fall if she does not have anything to hook her claws on. Unfortunately for me, most of the time it's my skin her claws dig in. People can tell if you have a cat at home when you go around sporting little red slashes on your hands, arms and legs, with some healing, some still bloody, and some already scabbed and itchy.

For this reason, we have determined that she has SLASHING DAMAGE. Painful, quick, and difficult to avoid. You never know when and where she's going to strike.

Toru

Toru is just as sweet and playful as Midori. He is also very curious about her, though she will claw his eyes out as soon as he tries to approach her. Toru is also a little dumb; he doesn't know how to jump up to the washing machine using my bike's wheel (they stand next to each other) and has to cry out pitifully before I pick him up and place him there to eat. Nor does he know how to use the freaking litter pan, despite my many attempts to place him there when I see him start to claw the floor.

I need patience.

But what he is, is friendly. He immediately took a liking to Bruno, and the two can play with each other all day, with Bruno giving up first (must be the age--he did just turn 3, after all). He is also very talkative, and will constantly meow till I can't take it anymore and submit to his whims, which usually means carrying him to wherever he wants to go. Sometimes it's so bad I have a hard time sleeping at night because he also wants to jump up on the bed and--GET THIS--eat my fingers. Or toes, if he can't reach my fingers.

P was the unlucky recipient of his playbites when he slept over the other night on the couch. The next morning, groggy and ill-tempered, P told me how Toru meowed the whole night and tried to jump up on the couch. Then when P put up a pillow as a wall, Toru jumped up on the couch's arm.

And according to P: "di mo ko naririning mura ko ng mura nung isang gabi." Poor P.

Based on his actions, we have determined that Toru has PIERCING DAMAGE. Toru's bites are quite painful, but can be dealt with easily with a sharp tap on the head and a firm NO. He still hasn't quite got it, though, but I'll give it time.

Bruno

So where does all that leave Bruno?

Well, we think Bruno is a HEARTY pet. He is an active dog, eats a lot, and is quite on the heavy side. He also once attempted to jump down from a 3-foot tall grocery cart, fell on his face, and promptly walked away. And so far, Toru's claws have not dented his thick fur.

Yes, he is quite hearty indeed.

I currently have my hands full, and my pockets rapidly emptying, so I don't think I can take on another pet. But when I do, I expect it will also have qualities we can identify using our Guild Wars knowledge.

Wintersday Finale

noreply@blogger.com (Pao) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:43:00 +0000

It was our first time to attend the Wintersday finale at Lion's Arch. We both voted for Grenth during the first event and got ourselves an Ice Crown. 3 hours later, we logged back in and switched sides to support Dwayna to get a Wreath Crown.

Ichabod and Morrigan celebrating Wintersday

Hi ho, hi ho, happy Wintersday!

Jump, jump, jump!

Wintersday hats

Happy Wintersday from Ichabod and Morrigan!

Happy Wintersday!

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:03:00 +0000

Well, well, well. Wintersday has come and nearly gone, and here I am nearly forgetting to greet the two of you who keep coming back to read this blog!

Morrigan greets you a merry Wintersday! And don't blow yourselves up!

Yes, I know the picture sucks. I was sleepy.

I am an EKAS

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:30:00 +0000

My friend Moth urged me to take The Bartle Test last night. The Bartle Test attempts to measure a player based on what they enjoy most about a game. While it was originally designed for MUDS (multi-user dungeons), the test questions still apply to today's virtual worlds and MMOGs.

There are four categories under which players are placed:

Achiever - they prefer collecting points, levels, treasure, and accomplishment that set them apart from other players.
Explorer - they enjoy finding all the unique areas of the world, and enjoy the immersion within the world.
Killer - they prefer the player-vs-player experience and often relish the adrenaline offered by playing against other players.
Socializer - they love interacting with other people, forming organizations, and finding cooperative solutions to the challenges within the virtual world.

There are 30 questions in all, and I ended up being EKAS:

EKAS players might be descibed as living by slogan: see the world, meet interesting people...and kill them. Immersion within the world is important to these players, because they love finding new things to explore--but they also enjoy the thrill of the hunt and finding other players within the world to fight.

I don't agree with the result--I'm more of a socializer than an achiever or killer, methinks. But one thing's true, I love to explore. Haha.

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:48:00 +0000

Finally! After 3 years of playing, I was finally able to catch the Mad King!

I logged in around 3pm (+8 GMT) and caught the celebration in Lion's Arch. I was still a little dazed at the time (too many kids in the office because of a Halloween party) and wasn't able to do as he asked, so I died a couple of times. But I caught on after a while:

Dance for the Mad King!

Much later, P joined me using Pongo Pooneil on another server for another dose of Mad King Thorn.

I'm good at this

That's what you get for not picking me earlier

At the end of Mad King Says, we finally got what we wanted:

Scarecrow Masks!

Too bad I don't have a Nightfall account, I read that the King gave away Mummy Masks there.

A Series of Firsts for Morrigan Dune

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:51:00 +0000

Remember Elise? Well, right now she's stuck at level 13. No, I haven't gotten sick of the game (YET) and abandoned my dear girls; I just had to buy GW:EN now instead of wait till the end of the year!

And so Morrigan Dune has come out of hibernation and gone off exploring the Far Shiverpeaks.

Morrigan Dune was the first character I created on the account my boyfriend bought me after he claimed owner rights on my original account. She's a Ranger, of course. I just love them sexy bow-weilders. =P

She's the only 20 I have, having been too fickle with my other characters, creating and deleting them as I went along and got bored with their looks or builds. She's the only one I stuck with, and being the only 20, the only one who could go to Eye of the North.

I had bought the expansion on a lonely Friday night with no plans to go out. I logged in the game, couldn't resist the Enter Store button, and all of a sudden I was entering my credit card details. There was no turning back. A few minutes later I was the proud owner of my very first expansion.

That same Friday night in the office I stayed for hours until closing time at 12mn, exploring the cold mountains of the Norn, the Hall of Monuments, and questing to get my first heroes. So far I have, in order: Ogden Stonehealer, Vekk, Gwen, Jora and Pyre Fierceshot.

With the two Monumental Tapestries I got as quest rewards, I was able to dedicate my mini-pets and my only Elite Druid set in the Hall of Monuments.

Heroes and mini-pets galore

I've had to put EOTN on hold, though, to make time to finish all the missions in Prophecies. I still have a few unfinished ones where I didn't get the bonus. I'm going through them all first before I take up EOTN again.

-oOo-

On another note, it's Halloween time again! This was also Morrigan Dune's first Halloween celebration in her two years of existence. She wasn't able to attend the Halloween event last year because I had been too busy with work at the time, and before I knew it, Mad King Thorn had come and gone.

The moon over Lion's Arch smiles a wicked smile

But I can't miss it this year! I've been hanging around Lion's Arch since yesterday and even joined Costume Brawl, where players take on certain henchies' looks and skills and fight it out PvP-style.

Me and P as Zho and Olias

In the five or so matches I've played as Zho, my team had won twice, and I got a couple of Trick-or-Treat Bags as prizes.

I just hope I'll be able to go online on the 31st in time to see the Mad King. I want a Pumpkin Crown!

The Ultimate Guild Wars Guide... how to get it?

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 02:40:00 +0000

Hmm. I wonder how I can get a copy of the September issue of PC Gamer? We have a PC Gamer Philippine edition, right? I doubt they'd run this issue, though. Sigh.

Meet Elise Pooneil

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:56:00 +0000

I promised myself I'd start playing again once I get a new laptop.

Whaddyaknow, I did get a new laptop!

So I've started playing again. Heh.

-oOo-

I got enamored with P's Factions, so I proposed to delete the old character I'd created way back and create a warrior instead. He agreed, and so Yoshi Doone was born in Shing Jea.

I started to look at farming builds again for an idea on a duo farming build and found the 600/Smite 2-monk team build. We figured it was worth a shot--P already had Pongo Pooneil the Monk/Warrior, who he uses to farm minotaurs. But I didn't have my own monk.

And so Elise Pooneil was born.

Meet Elise Pooneil
(with Necrid Horseman pet)

She's currently only at level 10, but with Level 20 big brother Yoshi's help, she just might breeze through to 20 in no time. Then we'll be off to buy her the Star design armor, and if we get enough money, the elite Labyrinthine armor.

She'll be used primarily for farming, if and when I get her to 20 and I finally get used to a support/healer role. I wasn't too sure about what to use for my second profession and just went with Necromancer so I can use the Blood Magic skills and leech HP off my enemies (which I can only do till a certain level, then it'd be practically useless). I'm still looking at what I can do with such a build. She is only level 10, after all. There's much room for improvement.

Ah, I'm getting back into the groove. This feels nice.

Have new computers, will play

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:40:00 +0000

It's been a long time since we last played Guild Wars, I've practically forgotten my commands. Haha. P's brick laptop finally gave out after about four years; neither of us had good enough desktops to play the game.

But all that will change come end of the month. By then, I'd probably have gotten my laptop (yay, me!) and P would have finally completed his dream desktop with a nearly-top-of-the-line graphics card (Geforce 8600GT Sonic+ *drool*) that would be more than capable of handling the game. As soon as we get our gears together we'll be playing again. AND we'll get GW:EN too. Can't wait for that.

A bit more info on Guild Wars 2

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:38:00 +0000

I'm not that updated on the latest developments with one of my favorite games (and my nerd boyfriend's absolute favorite), but while looking through Wikipedia at the list of DX10-ready PC games, I ran into Guild Wars 2.

*Sob* GW2 will be DX10-ready. I don't have a DX10 card. *Sob*

Anyway. This interview with GW2's developers have shed light on a lot of things going for this great chapter in the Guild Wars universe. Now I really can't wait. I just might buy a Collector's Edition this time! Haha. As if.

Here are a couple of points I liked.

It'll still be the same business model. Forever free, with regular standalone updates that players can choose to purchase or not. Thank God they're not changing that at all. WoW is a big turn-off because of the monthly fees. I don't have much time to play WoW to justify the $15 fee I have to pay every month. Guild Wars hits just the sweet spot with its $50 games released every six months. It's much more worth the money than WoW, in my opinion.

Guild Wars was a bit of an innovation with its largely instanced world, where players were free from other players attacking or stealing their kill because each player had his own world to play in. This time, though, they are pursuing the idea of more persistent worlds, with various servers. But unlike games today, players on GW2 will be able to crossover different servers without having to create new characters and stuff with ArenaNet's unified database. That's a very big improvement for me.

Lastly, there will more races. Yay, not just humans!

The Viking-like race, Norn

ArenaNet has announced 5 new races, but I only have info on Norns, Viking-like people from the North who can turn into were-bears. Sort of like Druids, I guess? But I'm assuming very different skills, cos they're freaking Vikings, man!

They have also hinted that the Charr might also be a playable race. THAT I can't wait for. Imagine playing a Charr! That'd be cool.

The Charr. I hope they do get to be playable soon.

Here's another, more in-depth article about the development of what is considered to be the first true expansion to the game.

Talk about anticipation.

Guild Wars turns 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:25:00 +0000

Guild Wars is celebrating its second birthday on April 28, I can't wait! Like last year's birthday, character toons who have turned another year older will receive a gift, another miniature! I hope I get something rare.

In-game events have been planned for the whole weekend of 27-28 April, it's just too bad that P and I will be somewhere with NO INTERNET and we can't join in.

Read the rest of the event details here.

Guild Wars update

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:18:00 +0000

I just found out today, going through JC's blog, that Guild Wars is set to release the newest expansion, Guild Wars: Eye of the North and further down the road, Guild Wars 2 which will be a full sequel to the Guild Wars franchise.

Eye of the North is set to be released this holiday season, and requires at least one of the previous Guild Wars campaigns (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall) to play. It will take place in the vast undergrounds first introduced in Prophecies, with 18 large multi-level dungeons, new skills, heroes, armors, weapons and other items.

Obviously, I copied this off their press release. Hehe.

Click here to read the full story.

I'm pretty excited. It's been a long time since I last played Guild Wars. P is still playing, I think, though not as hardcore as before.

Can't wait!

Guild Wars Rhapsody

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 03:22:00 +0000

I've been so out of touch with GW, but I think this video might make me go back to playing again.

I present---

Guild Wars Rhapsody!

You just gotta love Queen.

AWOL, yet again

noreply@blogger.com (Hazey) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 05:27:00 +0000

I made this blog to chronicle a period of feverish game-playing that I went through for about 3 months or so, trying to level up a new character to its highest at 20.

I was successful, having reached level 20 in 3 months, and getting good armor and such. But I was dirt-poor. I'm the living example of how games emulate real life. I'm as poor in the game as in real life.

Then before the Wintersday event I was so eager to participate in even rolled around, I suddenly stopped playing. It just happened for no reason at all. Nothing seemed to interest me anymore, not the new bows (I was playing a female ranger), or new pets, or even the thought of one day owning the cool 15k version of my Druid armor. I traded my level 20 Stalker for a Lizard, and I'm not yet through leveling him up.

I can't farm with my ranger yet. I can't go solo either. I got my first elite skill (Barrage), but it wasn't enough yet.

Why, oh why, did I lose interest all of a sudden?

My boyfriend P is still very much addicted to Guild Wars. For Christmas, I gave him both Factions and Nightfall, which I had been playing to buy myself back when I was still addicted to the game.

Now he's got four level 20 characters: his farming monk, a ranger whose look I came up with, a ritualist, and his very old necromancer. On one hand, I envy his characters, his gold, his avid interest in the game. And yet, I still could not bring myself to start playing again.

Snap out of it.